Named one of Fast Company’s “Most Creative People in Business” this year, Robert Brunner is the founder of Ammunition, the much-lauded San Francisco design studio.
One of “The World’s Top 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2015,” North Beach-based Ammunition impresses with a portfolio of clients including Adobe, Polaroid, Square, and Lyft—no doubt you've seen their latest work, the Lyft Glowstache, cruising around town. (When everyone grew tired of its bushy pink facial hair, Lyft turned to Ammunition for a smaller, pop-art mustache with a distinctive neon magenta light.)
With each new project, Brunner aims to communicate ideas through products, brands and their surrounding experiences, and his work (some of which lives in museum collections at MOMA and SFMOMA) has spawned numerous brand-defining design moments over the past three decades.
Prior to founding Ammunition, Brunner was director of industrial design at Apple, and he is co-author of the book, Do You Matter? How Great Design Will Make People Love Your Company.
We caught up with the revolutionary designer to find out what inspires him.
A well designed product must have…
A sense of character. Personality. Simple, but not generic. And it needs to be pure in purpose and functionality. Not overthought or over-designed. And of course, it must be beautiful.
When I say creativity I think about…
Looking at things through a different lens. To be creative, you need to see the world differently. As a realm of the possible. And then, when you see things one way, you change your perspective and see it from a different angle. This allows you to create new things and do it again and again, all around the same set of possibilities.
Before starting a new project, I…
Get out the preconceived notions floating in my head. Many times these notions of what something should be are dead on, and I come back to them eventually. It is important to get those ideas out, set them aside and start fresh. Then if it turns out you were right, you know it.
On my desk I have…
Pictures of my family. It keeps me grounded and feeling warm. And lots of junk. I am an organized thinker, but I like having lots of things around to play with.
My favorite design piece at home is…
There are many. I love our bright green Saarinen executive armchairs we have in the dining room. So perfect. We also have several of my late mom’s Danish midcentury teak pieces that I grew up with. I never appreciated them as a kid, but now I see how inherently beautiful and well constructed they are. I guess it helped me to follow design being surrounded by this stuff as a child. And keeps her present in my mind.
A project I am excited for is…
Personal electric transportation. It’s really an interesting project. We are looking at making simple, personal vehicles to move about town with a sense of joy. And to feel really psyched about riding them.
If I could choose any brand to work with, it would be.....
The designer bucket list I guess. Always wanted to work with Herman Miller. Audi would be amazing too. In general, I’d love to work on how we truly integrate our personal technology things into our clothing. Not done right yet.
My signature style piece is…
I change all the time. I am a big fan of jackets, sneakers and watches. I have this John Varvatos waxed muslin jacket I really love. It almost looks like leather. But light and super soft. With lots of zippers. I usually have a pair of Stephan Janoski sneakers on. And I always wear the amazing Bell and Ross watch my wife Eizabeth gave me.
The last meal that truly impressed me was….
My son Luke made dinner for us a couple weeks ago A subtle teriyaki salmon with jalapeños and sweet asparagus. He’s only 20, and can cook. On the restaurant side, Elizabeth and I recently went back to Café Claude downtown for old times sake. We used to meet there early on. We had a really amazing meal. You sometimes forget about those places.
A recent San Francisco find…
4505 Burgers and BBQ on Divisadero near my house. Just walked in at lunch one day by myself. Great food. BBQ is a weakness.
I always find the best gift on….
Etsy. I actually don’t shop on it enough, but when I do its great. It takes some work, but you can feel the hands of the makers and find something great. I like this.
If I need to clear my head, I….
Vodka Martini, up with a twist. Just kidding. Recently I’ve been exploring meditation. Sometimes you need to silence the voices in your head. Being "in the moment” has become a cliche, but when you can actually do it, it’s very calming and powerful at the same time. It helps clear the clutter out of my brain so I can be calm and more creative.
The designer who has influenced my approach is…
Early on it was Mario Bellini. His work for Olivetti in the '70s was amazing and visionary in terms of technology design. However, as time goes on, there are not too many I follow per se. Maybe Mark Newson a little, Jasper Morrison. Mostly I’m just inspired by good work, and the team I work with in our studio.
The destinations that have inspired my works are…
Barcelona. Tokyo. San Francisco.
I am inspired by…
Seeing passion, and commitment to a cause. I’m sometimes a little flaky and change directions or get distracted. When I see someone passionate and strongly committed to a single cause, it inspires me to focus and work hard. And try to give.
On my playlist today is…
The Dig. The War on Drugs.
An indulgence I never give up….
The evening cocktail. It’s just such a pleasurable ritual. Once the kids are down and Elizabeth and I can relax, it’s a simple reward for the day.
